‘Something I’d rather avoid’: Malinauskas rejects mask mandate

SA Well being immediately reported 19 COVID-related deaths, however a few of these occurred since February 3 and are solely now being reported following newest information launched from Births, Deaths and Marriages.

There are 384 folks with COVID in hospital – a rise of 10 from yesterday – together with 11 in intensive care.

South Australia immediately reported 3363 new COVID instances, bringing the overall variety of energetic instances within the state to 27,506.

The federal government is dealing with calls from teams such because the Australian Medical Affiliation to deliver again mask-wearing guidelines, given the elevated transmissibility of the brand new Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, which now account for almost all of COVID instances within the state.

Chief public well being officer Professor Nicola Spurrier has beforehand stated that COVID-19 transmission might be diminished by about 10 per cent if everybody wore face masks inside crowded public venues.

However Malinauskas, who returned to work immediately after taking two weeks’ go away, advised reporters that masks mandates have been “not one thing that’s at the moment on the radar”.

The Premier stated no different state or territory had introduced again mask-wearing guidelines and he was decided to keep up nationwide consistency on the difficulty.

“Reintroducing masks mandates doesn’t come with out its personal penalties,” he stated.

“That is about balancing consideration of the well being system… whereas we’re additionally doing what measures we will to contemplate the truth that we’re in several part of the pandemic.

“We do place a excessive worth on nationwide consistency (and) there’s no state within the nation that’s reintroduced a masks mandate.”

Masks are nonetheless necessary in high-risk settings equivalent to hospitals and different well being care providers, pharmacies, incapacity and aged care providers, public transport, and on planes.

Shut contacts of constructive COVID instances should additionally put on a masks when leaving their house.

Reimposing a masks mandate for different public locations would require the federal government to declare one other state or public well being emergency.

Labor MP Eddie Hughes on Friday referred to as on the Malinauskas authorities to contemplate reintroducing a masks mandate inside crowded public locations equivalent to supermarkets.

The member for Giles advised InDaily introducing a masks mandate was a “small ask” to guard susceptible folks from getting sick.

Malinauskas stated he hadn’t spoken to Hughes in regards to the challenge, however the authorities was but to obtain any native or nationwide well being recommendation to help the reintroduction of a masks mandate.

He advised ABC Radio Adelaide earlier immediately that even when he did obtain such well being recommendation, he would have “a rare diploma of reluctance” to behave on it.

“It’s (a face masks mandate) not one thing that I wish to see happen – that’s one thing I’d relatively keep away from,” he stated.

It comes as faculties returned for the primary day of Time period 3 immediately as COVID instances proceed to spike throughout the state.

Masks-wearing inside school rooms is really useful, however the Training Division has stopped in need of making it obligatory.

Malinauskas stated in “sure circumstances” masks mandates could be reintroduced in faculties if instances spiked.

“That’s a system that we thought labored nicely in direction of the again finish of the final college time period. It ought to work nicely initially of this one too,” he stated.